You’ll need a lot of Gray Matter to enjoy this one

Gray Matter starts off as any mystery game would: a creepy old mansion, half an hour’s bus ride from Oxford, during the middle of a storm. Sam Everett is an American who practices magic and is searching for a secret magicians’ club known as the Daedalus Club. Her motorbike breaks down in the rain and she happens to stop near the mansion. To blag a room for the night, she pretends to be the new assistant to the owner, Dr. David Styles, an expert in the field of ‘unusual neurological abnormalities’. In the morning, Sam realises that she can make a bit of money by continuing her deception, and so starts performing tasks for Dr Styles. She must gather up several guinea pigs for his next experiment, so she goes to Oxford to find students (pretentious or otherwise) to take part. Of course, the good Doctor has a shady past, about which more is discovered throughout the storyline.

There is definitely a lot of intrigue in Gray Matter. The storyline is gripping and really makes the player want to keep playing in order to find out everything about the game world. Jane Jensen, the game’s designer, has clearly done a lot of research. By exploring the game, players can find out so much and not all of it is necessary for the game. You can access libraries and file cabinets, giving you access to a vast plethora of information about either Oxford, magic or neuroscience – the scale really is impressive.

Music in the game works very well, adding much to the atmosphere and accentuating the feeling of mystery in a lot of the settings. Occasionally sound effects were far too loud, just to make it obvious something was there. For example in the tutorial, the sound of the rabbit chewing was unnaturally loud. It overpowered the music and any other sounds, and just felt unnecessary.

Graphics, however, vary hugely in Gray Matter. During gameplay there’s a vast amount of effort put into even the smallest of details, and it really looks spectacular. The backgrounds are well thought-out, and the whole game has a really realistic look. However, during cut scenes the visuals really fall apart. The characters judder and any realism is gone – yet this is how the game opens, rather disappointingly. For a game that has been in production for eight years, I feel the cut scenes could really have been improved upon.

Gray Matter works like most other ‘point-and-click’ adventures. Players find points of interest around the room, clicking on them to get information and to go to different places. The more you click on, the more information you get. Sometimes you must use items in your inventory to progress and certain rooms remain inaccessible until you have completed certain tasks. Like the majority of these games, it can sometimes become a bit boring. This is even worse if you get stuck, as you often find yourself going to the same rooms and looking for the smallest detail that could help you.

It is really just a standard ‘point-and-click’ game and feels a bit out-of-date

There is no hint system, which, despite the difficulty, I feel is actually a good thing for this style of game. Often these systems cheapen the game and make it far too easy, but this choice may put off playes that are finding it hard to progress. There is, however, a chance to show every item in the room with which you can interact. This allows you to see what you can interact with but doesn’t show how important certain things are, or tell you if items might need to be used on them, therefore keeping the difficulty at the same sort of level.

Gray Matter also brings a new idea to the table. As Sam is a magician you have access to ‘The Magician’s Guide Book’ – by choosing certain tricks from this tome you can progress through situations that might have otherwise been impossible. After selecting the right trick you must combine a series of ‘moves’, if you will, to pull off the trick successfully; for example, a slight of hand or slipping items up your sleeve. Every trick is explained in the book, but you have to choose the right items in order to complete the trick. This is a really fun way to solve some puzzles, as you can trick characters along the way in order to progress, giving a new side to the ‘point-and-click’ gameplay. Obviously there are some puzzles that are simply riddles, jigsaws or scavenger hunts, but these are to be expected in this style of game.

All in all, Gray Matter is enjoyable but can sometimes disappoint. It’s come out at a time when this style of gameplay has really passed. Although it brings a few new ideas to the table, it is really just a standard ‘point-and-click’ game and feels a bit out-of-date. One thing that I will reiterate is the amount of detail that this game goes into with its background information. If you spend a lot of time going through every last piece, you’ll really get a lot out of Gray Matter. However, if that isn’t what you’re looking for, it can really feel like it’s dragging on. With eight years of production, I really feel this game should have done so much more.